Toby Peters tries to protect a Western star against a vicious salami-mogul. Toby Peters is enjoying a moonlighting gig as the house detective at a hot-sheets motel when two giant men come to take him for a ride. They're Chicago toughs, visiting Los Angeles with their boss, Lombardi, who has come west to establish himself as the cold-cuts king of California. His message to Peters is simple: Stop asking questions and tell Cooper he didn't find anything. Or else. Cooper is Gary Cooper, who recently hired a detective named Toby Peters to quiet a blackmailer. But that wasn't Toby - it was the dentist who shares his office. The amateur sleuth bungled the case so badly that now they're all in danger from Lombardi, the blackmailers, and anyone else with a hot head and a .45. If Toby Peters can't sort this out quickly, the next batch of Lombardi hot dogs will be made of one hundred percent pure-ground detective. About the Author: Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009) was one of the most prolific crime fiction authors of the last four decades. Born in Chicago, he spent his youth immersed in pulp fiction and classic cinema - two forms of popular entertainment which he would make his life's work. After college and a stint in the army, Kaminsky wrote film criticism and biographies of the great actors and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1977, when a planned biography of Charlton Heston fell through, Kaminsky wrote Bullet for a Star, his first Toby Peters novel, beginning a fiction career that would last the rest of his life. Kaminsky penned twenty-four novels starring the detective, whom he described as the anti-Philip Marlowe. In 1981's Death of a Dissident, Kaminsky debuted Moscow police detective Porfiry Rostnikov, whose stories were praised for their accurate depiction of Soviet life. His other two series starred Abe Lieberman, a hardened Chicago cop, and Lew Fonseca, a process server. In all, Kaminsky wrote more than sixty novels. He died in St. Louis in 2009. Review quote: Impressive. . . . Kaminsky has staked a claim to a piece of the Russian turf. . . . He captures the Russian scene and characters in rich detail. - The Washington Post Book World. Quite simply the best cop to come out of the Soviet Union since Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko in Gorky Park. - The San Francisco Examiner. Stuart Kaminsky's Rostnikov novels are among the best mysteries being written. - The San Diego Union-Tribune. For anyone with a taste for old Hollywood B-movie mysteries, Edgar winner Kaminsky offers plenty of nostalgic fun . . . The tone is light, the pace brisk, the tongue firmly in cheek. - Publishers Weekly. Marvelously entertaining. - Newsday. Makes the totally wacky possible . . . Peters [is] an unblemished delight. - Washington Post. The Ed McBain of Mother Russia. - Kirkus Reviews.

Toby hunts for the man who wants to kill a fallen star of silent film. As Toby Peters crouches behind a tombstone, hiding from a crazed gunman, the private eye thinks of Charlie Chaplin. A few days earlier, the pioneer of film comedy sat in Toby's office, and told him of the hundreds of people who want him dead. Beloved when his public could not hear him speak, his political leanings have made him a pariah. Right-wing radicals, the Ku Klux Klan, and the fathers of the innumerable young women Chaplin has deflowered have all threatened the Little Tramp. But now someone has broken into Chaplin's house with a long knife, telling him to quit making movies and leave Fiona Sullivan alone. Chaplin has never heard of Fiona, and wants Toby to find out why he's supposed to stay away. Toby Peters is about to learn a lesson Chaplin learned years ago: If you want to stay alive in Los Angeles, keep your mouth shut. About the Author: Stuart M. Kaminsky (1934-2009) was one of the most prolific crime fiction authors of the last four decades. Born in Chicago, he spent his youth immersed in pulp fiction and classic cinema - two forms of popular entertainment which he would make his life's work. After college and a stint in the army, Kaminsky wrote film criticism and biographies of the great actors and directors of Hollywood's Golden Age. In 1977, when a planned biography of Charlton Heston fell through, Kaminsky wrote Bullet for a Star, his first Toby Peters novel, beginning a fiction career that would last the rest of his life. Kaminsky penned twenty-four novels starring the detective, whom he described as the anti-Philip Marlowe. In 1981's Death of a Dissident, Kaminsky debuted Moscow police detective Porfiry Rostnikov, whose stories were praised for their accurate depiction of Soviet life. His other two series starred Abe Lieberman, a hardened Chicago cop, and Lew Fonseca, a process server. In all, Kaminsky wrote more than sixty novels. He died in St. Louis in 2009. Review quote: Impressive. . . . Kaminsky has staked a claim to a piece of the Russian turf. . . . He captures the Russian scene and characters in rich detail. - The Washington Post Book World. Quite simply the best cop to come out of the Soviet Union since Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko in Gorky Park. - The San Francisco Examiner. Stuart Kaminsky's Rostnikov novels are among the best mysteries being written. - The San Diego Union-Tribune. For anyone with a taste for old Hollywood B-movie mysteries, Edgar winner Kaminsky offers plenty of nostalgic fun . . . The tone is light, the pace brisk, the tongue firmly in cheek. - Publishers Weekly. Marvelously entertaining. - Newsday. Makes the totally wacky possible . . . Peters [is] an unblemished delight. - Washington Post.

Location: north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 150 (mostly men!) But the three O´Halloran brothers, who run a bush-plane charter service called Midnight Sons, are heading a campaign to bring women to town. Falling for Him Christian, the youngest O´Halloran brother, has a problem, and her name is Mariah Douglas. The Midnight Sons secretary is always losing his messages, misplacing his files, and generally creating chaos. Despite that, he can´t get her out of his mind.... Ending in Marriage The clashes between pilot Duke Porter and Seattle attorney Tracy Santiago are legendary. Duke´s a tough, rugged individualist who delights in expressing outrageous opinions, particularly when Tracy´s around. But she gives as good as she gets...and not just when they´re arguing! And a Special Bonus Story... Midnight Sons and Daughters Scott O´Halloran and Chrissie Harris are all grown up now. After years away from Alaska, Scott´s back in town, and everybody´s wondering if he´s here to stay. Especially Chrissie, the girl he left behind. 1. Language: English. Narrator: Dan John Miller. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/brll/001997de/bk_rhde_002536_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.

The clashes between pilot Duke Porter and Seattle attorney Tracy Santiago are legendary. Duke’s a tough, rugged individualist who delights in expressing outrageous opinions, particularly when Tracy’s around. But she gives as good as she gets…and not just when they’re arguing! 1. Language: English. Narrator: Dan John Miller. Audio sample: http://samples.audible.de/bk/brll/002001de/bk_rhde_002536_sample.mp3. Digital audiobook in aax.